Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Alicia "Cocoa" Calvin has always stood out for her commitment to her community and leadership, representing others with integrity. After all, her grandparents, Willie May and Elijah McCoy taught her what it means to support her community. Together they built the Corner Store & Café and created a place where neighbors could come together and talk about how to make their community better for all residents. Her grandmother's message to a young Calvin - "Your greatest gift is giving of yourself." At a young age, Cocoa saw her family advocating for their community and decided to lead by example. When her high school lacked the resources to even put an American flag on their flagpole, at 16 years old, Cocoa called and asked to meet with Mayor Mayo in order to get a proper flag for her school. This was her first adventure in advocacy, and she has been tackling tough issues for her community ever since. When Wossman High School didn't have proper facilities, she went from teacher to teacher and compiled a portfolio of what needed to be fixed along with photos. She advocated on behalf of students and teachers alike by meeting with the Superintendent to get repairs.

While she was President of the NAACP Student Chapter at LSU, she fought to remove confederate flags from campus, fought for tenured black professors, and her Chapter won the most outstanding chapter award from the NAACP.

After college, Cocoa was one of only ten recent college graduates selected for the national Yes We Can training program, where she trained and prepared to enter public service. Through direct working experience with Donna Brazile, Senator Harry Reid, Congressman Charlie Melancon, the Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative, Governor Kathleen Blanco, Senator Mary Landrieu, and President Barack Obama, Cocoa learned what it means to champion issues, get legislation passed and how elected officials impact peoples' daily lives.

Growing up in District 16, Alicia has advocated for the people in her district all her life. She has spent her career focused on improving educational outcomes for our children, fighting for justice for our community, and advocating so that we all have the opportunities we need to succeed. Now, once again, with the fire to fight for her community, Cocoa is running for Louisiana House District 16 to break down the barriers that have kept our district from realizing all that is possible. She is ready to fight for our community and make sure that District 16 has access to all the resources we need to thrive. On Saturday, November 13, vote for a true and proven leader and true community advocate. Vote for Alicia "Cocoa" Calvin!